Metagame Multibility

[shnowshner]

I'm going to try and be quick with my thoughts here:

I don't find the Primal Weathers to be problematic and rather find that their presence makes the metagame a lot more interesting. Desolate Land and Primordial Sea are great checks to one another and Delta Stream certainly exists for like Corviknight. Defensively these abilities offer a whole new avenue to the game as you can run Desolate Land Heatran and give yourself a Water immunity + extra Fire damage. There's actually a dynamic between stuff like DLand and normal Water immunities: the former stop protecting you if your weather gets canceled out by PSea/Stream, while the latter doesn't but instead finds itself vulnerable to Teravolt/Turboblaze. It adds a ton to creativity when designing a team.

The biggest issue with Primal Weather IMO is when you pair it with weather abusers like Venusaur and Barraskewda. Personally I've not had much trouble fighting them but I have no qualms with them getting axed. I think clausing out Primal Weather + Speed Boosting Ability is the way to go.

This is all my opinion but having dedicated Weather teams sounds really annoying to build against since there are 4 different styles and multiple potential abusers to cover for. If we get rid of Primal Weathers I imagine we'd end up in a metagame dominated by Weather teams, which would likely result in them facing bans as well. Primal Weathers offer a check to these teams that require Weather builds to make some sacrifices in order to succeed - sacrifices that can make them easier to handle as a whole without immediately making them unviable. Just because I added something like Primordial Sea Ferrothorn to my team doesn't mean a prospective Sun team can't add something that threatens or lures Ferrothorn in so it can be removed.

 

[Stormzy]

thought I’d share a fun set I’ve been using on ladder

Tapu Bulu @ triage
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Horn Leech
- Zen Headbutt
- Close Combat

if you’ve run into me on ladder then you’ve probably seen me use this set. triage horn leech boosted by terrain is usually unexpected by opponents and does a lot of damage, especially when boosted. zen headbutt does good damage to poison types, specifically venusaur and pex. CC is there to break past steel types like ferrothorn, and it also 2hkos corviknight at +2 if it’s not dauntless shield, which you still can 2hko it with rocks. you could run stone edge over zen headbutt but it doesn’t hit much, so i stopped using it after awhile.

this set does face some competition with rillaboom, since it already comes with priority so you can use another boosting ability, but bulu has higher priority than prankster, a bit more attack, and semi reliable recovery, plus the surprise factor of bulu outspeeding your speedy mon and killing it, which grass monke doesn’t have, since every rillaboom set probably has glide on it

 

[Cuddly]

thought I’d share a fun set I’ve been using on ladder

Tapu Bulu @ triage
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Horn Leech
- Zen Headbutt
- Close Combat

if you’ve run into me on ladder then you’ve probably seen me use this set. triage horn leech boosted by terrain is usually unexpected by opponents and does a lot of damage, especially when boosted. zen headbutt does good damage to poison types, specifically venusaur and pex. CC is there to break past steel types like ferrothorn, and it also 2hkos corviknight at +2 if it’s not dauntless shield, which you still can 2hko it with rocks. you could run stone edge over zen headbutt but it doesn’t hit much, so i stopped using it after awhile.

this set does face some competition with rillaboom, since it already comes with priority so you can use another boosting ability, but bulu has higher priority than prankster, a bit more attack, and semi reliable recovery, plus the surprise factor of bulu outspeeding your speedy mon and killing it, which grass monke doesn’t have, since every rillaboom set probably has glide on it

It’s not really surprising to see Triage Tapu Bulu. Tons of sets in this meta will just have an ability a Pokemon uses in AAA for their Item ability here, and nearly every Tapu Bulu runs Triage there.
I think Bulu’s real advantage is its ability to stay in longer than Boom because its priority isn’t reliant on Grassy Terrain, has better bulk, and some passive healing.

 

[DeepFriedMagikarp]

You can consider dropping zen as you don't need it for pex (+2 leech into +0 kills unless first scald burns)

 

[Stormzy]

It’s not really surprising to see Triage Tapu Bulu. Tons of sets in this meta will just have an ability a Pokemon uses in AAA for their Item ability here, and nearly every Tapu Bulu runs Triage there.
I think Bulu’s real advantage is its ability to stay in longer than Boom because its priority isn’t reliant on Grassy Terrain, has better bulk, and some passive healing.

yeah, I can see that people could expect it, but so far I haven’t seen that many people switch out expecting a priority, like a chipped blacephalon staying in, or koko staying in to u turn, maybe on higher ladder it’s more expected but I haven’t seen people predicting triage yet. the better bulk and priority without terrain are strong points though.

You can consider dropping zen as you don't need it for pex (+2 leech into +0 kills unless first scald burns)

personally i would still use it since i run into a lot of venusaur on ladder which switches into bulu easily, and I haven’t found stone edge to be too useful so far, you could possibly use megahorn to still hit venusaur decently hard, and have a strong hit for other grasses, or darkest lariat for a neutral hit on grass resists

 

[AP5Fanboy]

Starting off with Lando-T, I like the idea of speed control but I agree that Lando isn’t the best pick. I recommend swapping it out with Primordial Sea + Swift Swim Seismitoad, which lets you keep a decently bulky Ground type, a Stealth Rock user (which isn’t choiced), and a Zeraora check but is also much faster and stronger. Physical or special are both fine. If you want to keep pivoting then I’d suggest Barraskewda or Kingdra since they both get Flip Turn; however, Flip Turn isn’t ideal because Desolate Land exists and they’re much less bulky.

Toxapex is fine as is imo. Prankster might not be necessary since your team is robust defensively; if you were to change it I’d suggest Levitate. Even Corrosion could be nice just to poison everything.

Garchomp looks good too. God bless regenerator.

Moltres is fine too if you want to keep it. I’d personally use Mystical Fire instead of Overheat because I dislike stat drops on bulky mons and I’d prefer to rely on other team members for offensive pressure. If you were to replace it I’d suggest Magic Guard Talonflame. Same typing, still decently bulky, but its offensive capabilities are far superior. Brave Bird, Roost, and any combo of Bulk Up/Swords Dance, Taunt, or Flare Blitz should work well. This would help a ton against stall teams, which your team is otherwise very weak to.

Ferrothorn looks pretty good. If you dislike its current longevity then I’d suggest Regenerator over Magic Bounce. Magic Bounce isn’t too important for your team since nothing struggles with hazards. If that’s not allowed (Pex naturally has it and Garchomp was given it) then I’d go with Flash Fire.

Zeraora is a little tricky to address since its role on the team isn’t too well-defined. Tbh it looks like it was just slapped on at the end because you weren’t sure what to put in the last slot. If so I respect that because that’s how a lot of my teams end up lol. I think your team needs more of an offensive presence than what Zeraora can offer. Some good mons could be Weavile, Rillaboom, Gengar, or Tapu Lele. There are a ton of cool options if you just want to slap on a threat in this team slot so honestly just use whatever mon looks fun, whether or not it’s among those suggestions.

AP5Fanboy here is an importable team with the changes I suggested https://pokepast.es/d9e96bdbc629f065
[/QUOTE]
Looks good, thanks for the help!

 

[shadowpea]

A rather unconventional apprach on weather sets:


Goodra @ primordialsea
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 252 HP / 60 SpA / 196 SpD (idk deal with these EVs yourself, I'm can't do any of this. These EVs let you avoid the 2HKO from SFLO Landorus's Earth Power after rocks with the rest dumped into SpA)
Calm / Relaxed Nature
- Rest
- Toxic
- Dragon Pulse / Dragon Tail / Draco Meteor
- Thunder / Hydro Pump / Surf / Ice Beam / Sludge Bomb / Focus Blast

primsea hydration = free 100% healing move which is goated, and pseudo-immunity to status (all status, so not like mg or bounce or nature cure who only cures your status on switchout). for those who forgotten about it (cant blame you) goodra has actually amazing special bulk though it is rather fragile physically (0 atk lando-t 2hkoes from full with eq). another thing is that goodra has wayy too much coverage and it can make use of pretty much all of them (save fire blast/flamethrower), from power whip to sludge bomb/wave to thunder to pseudo-stab hydropump. and with 110 spa and some high-powered moves this thing will hit deceptively hard on the special side, while 100 atk and decent bp coverage means that it wont exactly hit like a wet noodle on the physical side. dragon tail is also nice for shuffling especially when goodra can just cancel all the chip it has taken in 1 turn and leave the opponent crying. honestly you can even drop toxic or dragon stab for more coverage.

not 100% sure its good but its definately usable, its not completely passive like blissey, it can actuall hit and take physical blows, and it has access to dragon tail or the high-powered draco.

 

[Billybobman]

"Sleep Clause: Sleep-inducing moves are banned"

Funny Sleep-inducing sets:

Cresselia

Cresselia (F) @ Prankster
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Psycho Shift
- Moonlight

Togekiss

Togekiss @ prankster
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Air Slash
- Psycho Shift

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8multibility-1432110703

Not sure how good the sets are though. I think you can increase the odds of using psycho shift with sleep talk (from 1/3 to 1/2 i think) by using certain moves, or not using all 4 moves.

 

[ZNK2]

Dumping a few more teams for you guys.


The main problem with Barraskwda here in Multibility is that Flip Turn cannot be absorbed just like Volt Switch unless you're running a Water Absorb or a Desolate Land mon that doesn't get destroyed by Psy Fangs like Venusaur, while hitting almost as hard as his main STAB move Liquidation so most of the time you can't attemp wacky stay ins in order to conserve momentum like you could against a vaste majority of U-Turn users. Thereby making it easy for Barra to bring in almost unwallable threats such as Tinted Lens abusers.
Quick summary of how to use the team: lead with Barra, force in the opposing Pex in, Flip Turn on it, bring in Lele, claim a kill. God knows TLens is absurd. Using Water Absorb Lando-T in order not to get obliterated by this exact same strategy / similar ones. Terrakion destroys the few things Lele might still struggle against, including Ferrothorn, Heatran and specially defensive Jirachi.


Less broken, funnier team to use. Toxtricity is actually insanely good, being able to break through everything that isn't Regenerator Aegislash a Volt Absorb bulky water. Wich is actually quite rarely seen as everyone seems to prefere using Prankster Pex. Talonflame also is really cool to use, keeping Buzzwole in check while also being able to break through Volt Absorb Pex that annoys Toxtri, as said earlier. Try to keep Gale Wings active as often as possible. Future Sight support from Slowbro helps a lot in a metagame where Toxapex is the most seen bulky water. Bounce Bliss was mostly here in order to deal with No Guard Gengar but I'm keeping it as a non-Moldy Tran check.

 

[chartung17]

"Sleep Clause: Sleep-inducing moves are banned"

Funny Sleep-inducing sets:

Cresselia

Cresselia (F) @ Prankster
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Psycho Shift
- Moonlight

Togekiss

Togekiss @ prankster
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Air Slash
- Psycho Shift

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8multibility-1432110703

Not sure how good the sets are though. I think you can increase the odds of using psycho shift with sleep talk (from 1/3 to 1/2 i think) by using certain moves, or not using all 4 moves.

Yes, there are moves that can't be called by Sleep Talk: https://m.bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Sleep_Talk_(move)#Unselectable_moves

However, none of them are good moves (except Dynamax Cannon, which no legal mon can use). But if you're just looking for a meme set and not a competitively viable one, you can try Metronome.

 

[Bygonera]

Would Multibility be playable in older gens using a challenge code?

 

[Cuddly]

"Sleep Clause: Sleep-inducing moves are banned"

Funny Sleep-inducing sets:

Cresselia

Cresselia (F) @ Prankster
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Psycho Shift
- Moonlight

Togekiss

Togekiss @ prankster
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Air Slash
- Psycho Shift

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8multibility-1432110703

Not sure how good the sets are though. I think you can increase the odds of using psycho shift with sleep talk (from 1/3 to 1/2 i think) by using certain moves, or not using all 4 moves.

Yes, there are moves that can't be called by Sleep Talk: https://m.bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Sleep_Talk_(move)#Unselectable_moves

However, none of them are good moves (except Dynamax Cannon, which no legal mon can use). But if you're just looking for a meme set and not a competitively viable one, you can try Metronome.

Actually, since the moves are banned instead of having a special new mechanic, does Showdown still check for how many Pokemon are put to sleep?

 

[Toxtection]

Post Unaware Stall team:

https://pokepast.es/c8a0dd3ae6afe335



Clefable @ Dauntless Shield
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Soft-Boiled
- Stealth Rock
- Moonblast
- Flamethrower

Mainly here to check smack down Lando-T, Dauntless Shield + Unaware is tough to break for mons that lack super effective stab, I ended up running Flamethrower to lure Tinted Lens Scizor, which can outstall pex, you could also go with Ice Beam for Lando-T or Thunderbolt for Talonflame although I have not tried these options.



Blissey (F) @ Magic Bounce
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic
- Aromatherapy/Teleport
- Seismic Toss
- Soft-Boiled

Pretty standard set, being Taunt-Proof is just so amazing, you could also go with Teleport instad of Aromatherapy.



Goodra @ Primordial Sea
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Rest
- Earthquake
- Dragon Tail
- Weather Ball/Surf

"Immunity" to status and having access to a 100% recovery move along with great special bulk lets it check most special attackers, Earthquake to hit Heatran and CM Blacephalon, Dragon Tail is to stop ppl from setting up, Weather Ball is good to prevent Desoland Venusaur from switching in, although Surf has more PP and isn't useless vs Delta Stream mons.

Corviknight @ Volt Absorb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Impish Nature
- U-turn
- Defog
- Roost
- Body Press/Brave Bird

I don't think I need to explain much, VA lets it beat Koko and Raichu-Alola as well as Refrigerate Eleki and in general, it lets Corviknight come in more often.



Toxapex @ Prankster
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Toxic
- Recover
- Haze

Probably the most common set on Toxapex, priority haze acts like a pseudo-Unaware, pretty self-explanatory.



Aegislash @ Regenerator
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Iron Head
- King's Shield
- Toxic

70/140/140 Bulk while keeping some offensive presence, it can safely switch into Tinted Lens Tapu Lele:

252 SpA Tinted Lens Tapu Lele Psyshock vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Aegislash-Shield in Psychic Terrain: 126-150 (38.8 - 46.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
+1 252 SpA Tinted Lens Tapu Lele Psyshock vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Aegislash-Shield in Psychic Terrain: 190-224 (58.6 - 69.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Aegislash-Blade Iron Head vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tapu Lele: 294-348 (104.6 - 123.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Walls most special attackers that lack super effective stab, like Primordial Sea Zapdos while the Ghost typing lets it beat Block Imprison Transform Roost Mew.

Ladder Peak:

 

[Poké_Legend]

2 Things:

1. Does grass pelt work? It does not seem like it works.

2. How come the other primal weather's are able to override delta stream? Thought was supposed to cancel weather entirely?

 

[UT]

2. How come the other primal weather's are able to override delta stream? Thought was supposed to cancel weather entirely?

All three of the Primal Weathers override each other when sent out. So if a Primordial Sea mon is on the field and a Delta Stream mon is sent out, the weather will change to Heavy Wind. But if they then switch in a Desolate Land mon, it will switch to from Heavy Wind to Harsh Sun.

 

[Fogoit]

I'm no pokemon expert but I'm been having some fun using this set facing weather teams.

Altaria @ Mummy
Ability: Cloud Nine
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
- Roost
- Flamethrower
- Heal Bell
- Tailwind

Its such a good switch in against Barraskewda, resists Water, removes the rain boost and Swift Swim and applies mummy. Mummy can be removed switching out but I don't really mind that. Heal Bell cuz toxic is annoying, especially with Corrosion mons around.
In the end tho its pretty gimmicky, unless change the set into something consistent.

 

[Lilith222]

Playing some time in the metagame and I've been having fun with some of these sets.

Salazzle @ Merciless
Ability: Corrosion
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Toxic
- Fire Blast
- Sludge Wave

Pretty obvious on what it does poison everything and Crit them to death.

Raichu-Alola @ Electric Surge
Ability: Surge Surfer
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Surf
- Nasty Plot
- Rising Voltage
- Psyshock

Got both speed and power carried me in most of my games, Raichu is just Really good.

Tyrantrum @ No Guard
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Tail
- Dragon Dance
- Head Smash
- Scale Shot

Head smash is just everything you need no recoil no miss all you got to do is just get 1 set up and it's pretty much over.

The 3 are just really weak to Magic Bounce and Unaware users but otherwise they're really good sweepers

Well I wish you have fun as I have fun using them

 

[obese tofu]

Imo, Zamazenta should probably be unbanned. It needs and item to be really good, and if it's running 2 abilities it won't be as good. Compared to a lot of the other banned pokemon, it probably wouldn't be that good, and a lot of the stuff people are using right now is a lot better. I think Zamazenta definitely stands out the most out of all of the banned pokemon, and it's a lot more balanced than most of the restricted abilities. You could ban crowned zamazenta but keep regular zamazenta, because crowned still may be a bit too strong.

 

[Cratersmash]

Imo, Zamazenta should probably be unbanned. It needs and item to be really good, and if it's running 2 abilities it won't be as good. Compared to a lot of the other banned pokemon, it probably wouldn't be that good, and a lot of the stuff people are using right now is a lot better. I think Zamazenta definitely stands out the most out of all of the banned pokemon, and it's a lot more balanced than most of the restricted abilities. You could ban crowned zamazenta but keep regular zamazenta, because crowned still may be a bit too strong.

Crowned would probably be the more balanced of the two,considering Hero's great Speed tier and Crowned being item-locked,which means it can't get a second ability.Crowned I think could be an interesting addition to the meta,honestly.

 

[Cuddly]

Imo, Zamazenta should probably be unbanned. It needs and item to be really good, and if it's running 2 abilities it won't be as good. Compared to a lot of the other banned pokemon, it probably wouldn't be that good, and a lot of the stuff people are using right now is a lot better. I think Zamazenta definitely stands out the most out of all of the banned pokemon, and it's a lot more balanced than most of the restricted abilities. You could ban crowned zamazenta but keep regular zamazenta, because crowned still may be a bit too strong.

Honestly, the only reason that Zamazenta-C might not be unbanned is that it would be just so useless that the effort of unbanning by changing a few lines in this thread and in the code would be too much compared to what actual use Zamazenta-C would have.

Be seriously, Zamazenta-C is definitely going to be fine being unbanned. It would honestly be a detriment on certain since it takes up a slot for Dauntless Shield when something infinitely more useful could have had Dauntless Shield.

 

[thatonehandedguy]

I think one set that's being underrated currently is prankster incin. It covers so many niches that it is a very slot-efficient mon.

Incineroar @ Prankster
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Parting Shot
- Fake Out
- Taunt
- Flare Blitz

Fake out is probably the most optional move for it, but it allows it to stall out a turn of weathers and terrains on top of just being decent overall. An attacking move allows this mon to do a bit of unexpected damage and be a soft check to Venusaur and other chlorophyll users, and Flare Blitz is best for that. Most mons that use psychic terrain also spam psychic attacks, as well, so this mon isn't dead in the water there either, unlike some prankster sets. This set functions as a decent pivot, of course, and can lower stats against attackers without taking a hit in return consistently. Priority taunt from a dark type is extremely consistent. Parting shot's interaction with magic bounce means that every Clefable set that is currently run gets countered well by Incineroar. It does really well into HO and can counter some stall staples. Regen pivots are a staple of the format and this mon loves being able to get in on a teleport, lower opponent's stats or taunt and switch out to a setup sweeper or other mon that can take good advantage of your opponent's position. It forces switches well, checks a bunch of stuff, and can be a clutch mon in the late game.

 

[Gray Blacklight]

Yes, there are moves that can't be called by Sleep Talk: https://m.bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Sleep_Talk_(move)#Unselectable_moves

However, none of them are good moves (except Dynamax Cannon, which no legal mon can use). But if you're just looking for a meme set and not a competitively viable one, you can try Metronome.

the fact that assist is on that list opens a heck of a rabbit hole though

sleep ban- good.

weather is tough, its hard to judge if primal is the problem or the speed abilities. thing is, hail and sandstorm get the short end of the stick, and i can't tell if the abusers will run away with it.

please please please restrict triage; i already have a dedicated counter and i still think ill have to drop my fun salamence set for a second one. yes there are counters, but you need more than one. there are a ton of abusers, so many that it can be hard to tell which mons will have it. buzzwole an togekiss are popular, but hatterene, bulu, pangoro, and even therothorn- that last one was the tipping point for fire blast salamence btw- its nearly impossible to account for everything, and all of them are capable of leaving you helpless without a proper counter.

 

[drampa's grandpa]

TINTED LENS HAS BEEN RESTRICTED IN MULTIBILITY!

Following discussion in this thread and in the room the council has unanimously voted to restrict Tinted Lens. Abusers such as Tapu Lele and Tapu Bulu who are naturally able to freely click one high-powered attack become overwhelming when they effectively have no resists. We discussed banning specific abusers but came to the conclusion that the ability itself is what is pushing multiple Pokemon over the edge, and that it is unreasonable to expect the metagame to effectively balance with Tinted Lens present.
Note that this is a restriction, not a Ban. The difference being Pokémon that naturally get Tinted Lens can still use it in their normal ability slot.


SWIFT SWIM, CHLOROPHYLL, SAND RUSH, and SLUSH RUSH HAVE BEEN BANNED

The Multibility metagame has been heavily centralized around weather since the ladder first dropped. As we have previously discussed this is a complex issue, where our true target is not something we can directly ban due to being the combination of two abilities, being weather + weather speed abilities. The council has decided to ban the weather speed abilities as opposed to the weather-setting abilities as we are endeavoring to both keep our bans as uncomplex and as non-interfering as possible. This ban allows weather to still be used as a tool, either as an archetype or by individual Pokémon, while still removing the aspect of it that has become problematic and excessively centralizing.
Note that this is a ban, not a restriction. The difference being Pokémon such as Venusaur or Seismitoad which naturally get these abilities will no longer be able to use them, in addition to being banned in the Multibility slot.


What we did NOT ban in this specific round is Surge Surfer. It is on our radar, especially with the removal of several tools that previously kept it in check, however we felt its performance in the pre-ban slate metagame did not quite warrant a quickban.

As always we love to hear from you all, so please let us know what you think about these bans and how you find the metagame to change!​

tl;dr
Tinted Lens has been restricted
Chlorophyll has been banned
Swift Swim has been banned
Slush Rush has been banned
Sand Rush has been banned
tagging Kris

 

[Cuddly]

Firstly rip TL Slowking-G and TL Perrserker.
Second, with Speed Weather gone, this leaves room for defensive and breaking weather abilities.

Landorus (M) @ Sand Stream
Ability: Sand Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance
- Smack Down
Excadrill @ Sand Stream
Ability: Sand Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Swords Dance
- Rapid Spin
In case you didn't know, Landorus is actually legal here, and while it has been using Life Orb or Aerilate, I think that without worrying about Speed Weathers allows it to tap into Sand Force's power. While its Ground STAB isn't as strong initially, it's Rock coverage is stronger, has Sword Dance, and you also have to factor in Sand Damage in a metagame where Leftovers are almost never seen. Excadrill is similar but Sand Rush is banned anyways. Between the 2, Landorus-I has Smack Down, better speed, and also a better typing against Triage abusers, while Excadrill is stronger, has Duel STAB, Steel typing, and Rapid Spin.
These will still find trouble against opposing weather, but it's still not so easy to switch into them, and you can have your own Primal Weathers counter those counters.

What we did NOT ban in this specific round is Surge Surfer. It is on our radar, especially with the removal of several tools that previously kept it in check, however we felt its performance in the pre-ban slate metagame did not quite warrant a quickban.

I actually felt like Raichu-A excelled with Weather Speeds. Since its speed ability is terrain based, it would only be screwed against Barraskewda (and technically Lycanroc and Whimsicott), and Barraskewda wasn't switching into Raichu of all Pokemon that often. It is actually arguably weaker now since a large portion of what it would outspeed is gone.

 

[Soviet Glonk]

Hi! I made a post about Cloyster a while ago (when it wasn't om of the month) but now that its actually playable on ps, i have a few more fun ideas (also sorry if someone already posted some of these, i tried my best to double check it)

Tornadus-Therian (M) @ No Guard
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hurricane
- Nasty Plot
- Focus Blast
- Weather Ball/ Substitute/ Sludge Wave
This one is a pretty simple idea, get a +2 while you force the opponent into the "what is this running?" game and then start spamming its almost perfect coverage in Hurricane and Focus Blast, without losing a potential winnable game to a miss. This lacks a bit in firepower compared to the rest of hard-hitters in multibility, but is definitely worth trying out.


Scizor @ Steelworker
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD (can run a bit of speed too)
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Superpower/ Dual Wingbeat/ Bug Bite
- Roost
- Swords Dance
This is something i faced quite often while laddering, and ended up being quite hard to counterplay with offensive mons. Steelworker and Swords Dance boost Scizor's already impressive attack to stellar heights while using the Technician-boosted Bullet Punch. This set shines against Hyper Offense and offensive teams in general, being able to break them after only 1 or 2 boosts.

calcs

(Bullet Punch was manually edited to 60 BP while doing these calcs)
+2 252+ Atk Technician Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Regieleki: 277-327 (92 - 108.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
+2 252+ Atk Technician Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Landorus-Therian: 249-294 (65.1 - 76.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Technician Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Venusaur: 189-223 (62.7 - 74%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

Dragapult @ Dragon's Maw
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Darts
- Phantom Force
- Dragon Dance
- Substitute/ Fire Blast/ Sucker Punch
The set that got it banned from AAA (probably?), this set works just fine in this om too, Adaptability can also be used to break things that can otherwise eat up Dragon Darts. (not much explanation or calcs here because its pretty straightforward and I'm tired of writing).

Also here's a usable Hyper Offense team I made by compiling the above ideas (suggestions are welcome):